Patrick Brontë
Encyclopedia
The Reverend
Patrick Brontë (17 March 1777 - 7 June 1861) was an Irish Anglican curate
and writer
, who spent most of his adult life in England and was the father of the writers Charlotte
, Emily
and Anne Brontë
, and of Branwell Brontë
, his only son.
), County Down
. At one point in his adult life, he formally changed the spelling of his name from Brunty to Brontë. (See the article Brontë
for theories for the change).
He had several apprenticeships (to a blacksmith, a linen draper, and a weaver) until he became a teacher in 1798 and eventually moved to Cambridge
in 1802 to study theology at St. John's College. He gained his BA
degree in 1806 and was appointed curate at Wethersfield, Essex
, where he was ordained a deacon
of the Church of England
, and ordained
into the priesthood in 1807.
and in 1810 he published his first poem Winter Evening Thoughts in a local newspaper, followed in 1811 by a collection of moral verse, Cottage Poems. The following year (1812) he was appointed school examiner at a Wesleyan
academy, Woodhouse Grove School
, near Guiseley
.
(1783–1821), whom he married on 29 December 1812. Their first child Maria
(1814–1825) was born after their move to Hartshead
, Yorkshire, and their second, Elizabeth (1815–1825), after the family moved to Thornton. There the rest of the family were born; Charlotte
(1816–1855), Patrick Branwell
(1817–1848), Emily
(1818–1848) and Anne
(1820–1849). Patrick was offered the Perpetual Curacy of Haworth
in June 1819, and took the family there in April 1820.
His sister-in-law Elizabeth Branwell
(1776–1842), who had lived with the family at Thornton in 1815, joined the household in 1821 to help look after the children and to care for Maria Brontë, who was suffering the final stages of tuberculosis. She decided to move permanently to Haworth to act as Patrick's housekeeper.
He was responsible for the building of a Sunday School in Haworth, which he opened in 1832. He remained active for local causes into his old age and between 1849 and 1850 organised action to procure a clean water supply for the village, which was eventually supplied in 1856.
After the death of his last surviving child, Charlotte, nine months after she married, he co-operated with Elizabeth Gaskell
on the biography of his daughter, and was responsible for the posthumous publication of Charlotte's first novel The Professor in 1857. Charlotte's husband, Arthur Bell Nicholls (1819–1906), who had been Patrick's curate, stayed in Patrick's household until he returned to Ireland after Patrick's death in 1861.
Under the collective title Brotherly Sisters, Terence Pettigrew tells the Brontë story in fifty-three individual narrative poems. The collection starts with their father's farewell to his native Ireland in 1802 (The Road From Drumballyroney) and ends with a poignant description of Anne Brontë's death, in Scarborough, in 1849 (Do Angels Feel The Cold ?).
The Reverend
The Reverend is a style most often used as a prefix to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style but is often and in some dictionaries called a...
Patrick Brontë (17 March 1777 - 7 June 1861) was an Irish Anglican curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, who spent most of his adult life in England and was the father of the writers Charlotte
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
, Emily
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
and Anne Brontë
Anne Brontë
Anne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family.The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. For a couple of years she went to a...
, and of Branwell Brontë
Branwell Brontë
Patrick Branwell Brontë was a painter and poet, the only son of the Brontë family, and the brother of the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne.-Youth:...
, his only son.
Origins
He was the first of ten children born to Hugh Brunty and Alice McClory, in Drumballyroney (near RathfrilandRathfriland
Rathfriland is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a hilltop Plantation of Ulster settlement between the Mourne Mountains, Slieve Croob and Banbridge. It had a population of 2,079 people in the 2001 Census.-History:...
), County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
. At one point in his adult life, he formally changed the spelling of his name from Brunty to Brontë. (See the article Brontë
Brontë
The Brontës were a nineteenth-century literary family associated with Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte , Emily , and Anne , are well-known as poets and novelists...
for theories for the change).
He had several apprenticeships (to a blacksmith, a linen draper, and a weaver) until he became a teacher in 1798 and eventually moved to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
in 1802 to study theology at St. John's College. He gained his BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1806 and was appointed curate at Wethersfield, Essex
Wethersfield, Essex
Wethersfield is a village and a civil parish on the B1053 road in the Braintree district of the English county of Essex. It is near the River Pant. Wethersfield has a school, a post office, a fire station and two places of worship. Nearby settlements include the town of Braintree and the village of...
, where he was ordained a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, and ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
into the priesthood in 1807.
Curate
In 1809 he became assistant curate at Wellington in ShropshireShropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and in 1810 he published his first poem Winter Evening Thoughts in a local newspaper, followed in 1811 by a collection of moral verse, Cottage Poems. The following year (1812) he was appointed school examiner at a Wesleyan
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
academy, Woodhouse Grove School
Woodhouse Grove School
Woodhouse Grove School is an independent, coeducational, day and boarding public school and Sixth Form college in Apperley Bridge, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England for children aged between 11 and 18...
, near Guiseley
Guiseley
Guiseley is a small town in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Situated south of Otley and Menston, it is a suburb of north west Leeds. At the 2001 census, Guiseley together with Rawdon had a population of over 21,000. The A65, which passes through the town, is the...
.
Family
At Guisely he met Maria BranwellMaria Branwell
Maria Branwell was the mother of English writers Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë and Charlotte Brontë, and their brother, the poet and painter Branwell Brontë.-Early life:...
(1783–1821), whom he married on 29 December 1812. Their first child Maria
Maria Brontë
Maria Brontë was the eldest daughter of Patrick Brontë and Maria Branwell, a part of the Brontë family, and the older sister of Charlotte, Emily and Anne. She was born in Hartshead, Yorkshire.- Early life and education :...
(1814–1825) was born after their move to Hartshead
Hartshead
Hartshead is a village in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, west of Dewsbury and near Hartshead Moor.The village has pre-Norman Conquest origins; the Walton Cross dated from the 8th century....
, Yorkshire, and their second, Elizabeth (1815–1825), after the family moved to Thornton. There the rest of the family were born; Charlotte
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
(1816–1855), Patrick Branwell
Branwell Brontë
Patrick Branwell Brontë was a painter and poet, the only son of the Brontë family, and the brother of the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne.-Youth:...
(1817–1848), Emily
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
(1818–1848) and Anne
Anne Brontë
Anne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family.The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. For a couple of years she went to a...
(1820–1849). Patrick was offered the Perpetual Curacy of Haworth
Haworth
Haworth is a rural village in the City of Bradford metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is located amongst the Pennines, southwest of Keighley and west of Bradford. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope...
in June 1819, and took the family there in April 1820.
His sister-in-law Elizabeth Branwell
Elizabeth Branwell
Elizabeth Branwell was the aunt of the literary siblings Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë and Anne Brontë...
(1776–1842), who had lived with the family at Thornton in 1815, joined the household in 1821 to help look after the children and to care for Maria Brontë, who was suffering the final stages of tuberculosis. She decided to move permanently to Haworth to act as Patrick's housekeeper.
He was responsible for the building of a Sunday School in Haworth, which he opened in 1832. He remained active for local causes into his old age and between 1849 and 1850 organised action to procure a clean water supply for the village, which was eventually supplied in 1856.
After the death of his last surviving child, Charlotte, nine months after she married, he co-operated with Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
on the biography of his daughter, and was responsible for the posthumous publication of Charlotte's first novel The Professor in 1857. Charlotte's husband, Arthur Bell Nicholls (1819–1906), who had been Patrick's curate, stayed in Patrick's household until he returned to Ireland after Patrick's death in 1861.
Under the collective title Brotherly Sisters, Terence Pettigrew tells the Brontë story in fifty-three individual narrative poems. The collection starts with their father's farewell to his native Ireland in 1802 (The Road From Drumballyroney) and ends with a poignant description of Anne Brontë's death, in Scarborough, in 1849 (Do Angels Feel The Cold ?).
Further reading
- The Letters of the Reverend Patrick Brontë Edited by Dudley Green Foreword by Asa Briggs (Nonsuch Publishing Ltd 2005)
- A Man of Sorrow: The Life, Letters, and Times of the Rev. Patrick Brontë, John Lock and Canon W.T. Dixon, (1965)
- The Brontës, Juliet BarkerJuliet BarkerJuliet R. V. Barker FRSL is a British historian, specialising in the Middle Ages and literary biography. She is the author of a number of well-regarded works on the Brontës, William Wordsworth, and medieval tournaments...
(1995) - Charlotte Brontë: Evolution of Genius Winifred Gerin,(1967)
- The Letters of Charlotte Brontë (3 vols, edited by Margaret Smith), (1995–2003)
- The Book of General Ignorance, Foreword by Stephen FryStephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
(Mackays of Chatham, plc 2006)
External links
- Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth
- Cottage Poems (from the Gutenberg Project)
- Bronte Family. Italian Translation